GERMANY
Industrial output fell in June
Industrial production in June dropped for the second time in three months, the latest signal of weakness from Europe’s biggest economy. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy yesterday said that production was down 1.5 percent compared with the previous month. That followed a 2 percent decline in April and a 0.1 percent gain in May. Economists had forecast a more modest 0.6 percent drop for June. On Tuesday, official data showed that factory orders increased by an unexpectedly strong 2.5 percent in June.
BANKING
Commerzbank profit steady
Germany’s second-biggest lender, Commerzbank AG, yesterday said that second-quarter profit was steady. Net profit shrank 0.3 percent to 271 million euros (US$303.4 million) and revenue fell 2.2 percent to 2.1 billion euros. Looking ahead to the full year, the bank said in a statement that it expects “higher underlying revenues” compared with last year’s 8.6 billion euros and “a slight increase in consolidated net income” from 865 million euros last year.
BANKING
CBA annual profit falls 8.1%
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s biggest lender, yesterday posted weaker annual profit for the second year running after a tumultuous year of industry scandals. The bank reported A$8.57 billion (US$5.77 billion) in statutory net profit for the financial year ending June 30, down 8.1 percent from the same period last year, while its preferred earnings measure of cash profit fell 4.7 percent to A$8.49 billion. CBA said that it paid out A$918 million in customer remediation costs in the financial year, along with an additional $358 million to boost compliance.
AIRLINES
Cathay warns over tensions
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd yesterday said that geopolitical and trade tensions are likely to hurt business after the airline rebounded to a profit in the first half of this year. Protests in Hong Kong last month cut inbound passenger traffic and are “adversely” affecting bookings, Cathay said in a statement. First-half net income was HK$1.35 billion (US$172.18 million), compared with a year-ago loss of HK$263 million. With some companies advising staff to put off travel to Hong Kong, second-half performance could come under further pressure, it said.
CONGLOMERATES
Softbank Q1 net profit triples
Softbank Group Corp yesterday said that its first-quarter net profit more than tripled thanks to exceptional gains related to the sale of shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴). Softbank announced net profit of ¥1.12 trillion (US$10.54 billion) for the three months to June, up 257.6 percent from the same period last year. Sales rose 2.8 percent to ¥2.34 trillion, while operating profit dipped 3.7 percent to ¥690 billion, it said.
CHEMICALS
DuPont mulls unit spin-off
DuPont de Nemours Inc — fresh off the breakup of chemical giant DowDuPont Inc — is considering unloading its nutrition and biosciences division, people familiar with the matter said. The specialty chemicals maker is working with advisers to evaluate options that could include selling or spinning off the business, the people said. It is also considering a so-called Reverse Morris Trust, or a tax-free merger, with another firm.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure